Paper media bearing permanent ink are non-reusable and are often discarded after being read. Conventional methods for dealing with used non-reusable paper media include disposing of them into a landfill. Because the quantity of discarded paper media is enormous, this disposal raises significant cost and environmental issues.
Conventional methods for dealing with used non-reusable paper media also include recycling to save energy for paper manufacturing. However, the paper recycling process requires additional costs for materials and equipment. For example, the used non-reusable paper media need to be transported to a central facility for processing and, after the recycling process, the recycled paper media need to be packaged for delivery to the end user. In some cases, re-processing fails since batches of the non-reusable paper media can include unacceptable papers or inks that are non-recyclable.
An additional problem with used non-reusable paper media involves security issues of sensitive information printed on the used non-reusable paper, especially in government or military operations, because these non-reusable paper are accessible in wastebaskets, recycling bins, burn bins, or even shredders.
It is therefore desirable to locally remove sensitive information from the used non-usable paper prior to any further treatments. It is also desirable to provide methods and apparatuses for removing printed information from the paper media or other media. It is further desirable to re-use the paper media or other media instead of disposing or recycling them.